Cure Summertime Blues

Help Your Kids Make The Most Of Their Time Away From Homework

Ah, summer. Time to sit back, kick up your feet and relax with a tall glass of lemonade -- unless you're a parent.

When that final school bell rings in June, it will release a barrage of kids with way too much time on their hands, crying "Mom, I'm bored!"

Save yourself some aggravation and hair-pulling by planning for your kid's summer with our Parent Survival Guide. Our annual list of area camps, sports, classes and programs will help keep your child's mind and body from turning to mush during the long summer days.

For your little bookworm, many of the area libraries will have summer reading programs aimed at stretching your child's imagination.

For your cash-poor teen-ager, the American Red Cross provides courses in baby-sitting and mowing lawns so your teen can put money in his or her own pocket -- and stay out of yours.

And for those future Hollywood stars, the Hurrah Players in Norfolk will give your kids a stab at producing, promoting and performing in their own one-act play.

With our trusty Parent Survival Guide in hand, you and your child can map out a summer full of fun and adventure that just may teach them a new skill or two and uncover a hidden talent.

So keep this guide within arm's reach all summer, and fill your children's days with some creativity and physical activity. You'll achieve "hero" status in your kids' eyes, and they will be the envy of every bored kid on the block.

Get started now, sign up early and then start counting the days until your own well-deserved vacation begins -- when school starts again in autumn.

Dora Elias can be reached at 229-2796 or by e-mail at delias@dailypress.com; Yoon K. Om can be reached at 247-4751 or by e-mail at yom@dailypress.com